Thailand’s Internationalization for Excellence in Training Global Citizens
Thailand’s Internationalization for Excellence in Training Global Citizens
Associate Professor Tipchan Wongchanta, Ph.D.
Abstract
Education, at the core, is to explore possibilities for growth at all levels; be they personal, institutional, national, and/or international. Internationalization, both at home and abroad, is a catalyst for education to do its office to the fullest. With the least encumbrances of closures and borders in the context of internationalization, education unlocks the door for a promising transformational growth engine to take root. A sincere Janus-faced cooperation between Self and Other is, for one thing, quintessential to success in this version of growth; it is the very practice calling for a bona fide and close examination of what lies within (Self) and what without (Other). Such practice can transform the traditional notion of Self - Other dichotomy as binary oppositions or rivals into the sheer complementary entities that could be graphically depicted as a transcendental IIO Totality: I-for-Myself, I-for-Other, and Other-for-Me inclusivity. This article then sheds light on how the IIO Totality has recently been employed as a methodology for Thailand’s international cooperation strategies, through the Consortium of Global Mission, Council of University Presidents of Thailand. The result is twofold: 1) Thailand has a viable blueprint and/or direction for CUPT member universities across the nation to work collaboratively with international partners and 2) Universities in Thailand have more opportunities to cultivate a global citizen mindset with the protean triad of soft-hard-meta skills, deemed most necessary for individuals to become game changers in the current world perpetually filled with inevitable uncertainties and disruptive challenges.
Keywords: Education, Internationalization, Totality, Citizenship, Skills
Introduction: The Foundation Laid
“Isolation is a sin” is a fact-filled notion not far from the truth of the current, interconnected, and globalized world. In fact, isolation has no place in the history of human beings. If we look around ourselves reflectively, we will see that we humans are not the center of the whole trajectory of the world. We are metaphorically a tiny part of the vast picture of a puzzle, surrounded by other people, animals, trees, land, water, mountains, communities, organizations, ad infinitum. Those animate and inanimate beings and things around us (Other) are what makes our lives, organization, society, and/or country (Self) meaningful. Both Self and Other are, in other words, the critical parts of the Totality (inclusivity); they are thus instrumental in the process of our learning and living.
As the world is made up of Self and Other, it is wise to embrace the IIO Totality as the cornerstone of our education, living, and learning. In this tapestry of Totality/inclusivity, the first “I” stands for “I-for-Myself,” the second “I” for “I-for-Other,” and the “O” for “Other-for-Me.” Whereas “I-for-Myself” makes us aware of the fact that whatever we do, we do it for the benefit of Self, “I-for-Other” encapsulates the idea that whatever we do, we do it for the benefit of Other, and “Other-for-Me” signifies whatever done by the Other is for the benefit of Self. In this regard, all of us can partake of the same spirit of IIO Totality, which has a positive power to catapult us ahead.
Methodology: A Road to Success Constructed
It is true that genuine international cooperation relatively brings about progress and success to practitioners. However, visibility, credibility, and financial support are, among other things, needed along the way before we can reap benefits and success at the end of the road. Like a coin that has two sides, pain points unfortunately co- exist in international engagements. In the case of Thailand’s education, those hurdles and roadblocks to international gains are, at present, 1) no established committee to represent Thai universities at an international level, 2) low credibility and negotiation power when it comes to international collaborations, 3) no international knowledge sharing network, and 4) high cost and investment in international engagements. To make international education more accessible and productive for its member universities across the country, the Council of University Presidents of Thailand (CUPT) has recently set up the Consortium of Global Mission (CGM), and the first meeting was held on May 18, 2023.
Strikingly spurred by the spirit of IIO Totality, the CUPT-CGM has planted a fertile and promising seed of internationalization for member universities to benefit. It works on the assumption that every university has knowledge and experiences to share, and all can learn from each other regardless of the size, history, and/or reputation. Right from the first meeting, representatives of the CUPT-CGM member universities (35 in total) were encouraged to exchange ideas and experiences gained from international cooperations in their respective universities, and this kind of knowledge sharing has become a crucial learning platform for the CUPT-CGM members. The IIO Totality was implicitly employed as a methodology as follows:
- I-for-Myself: Each university identifies, in introspection and retrospection, its strength, expertise, and interests conducive to fruitful international cooperations. The input from each university will be combined with those from other CUPT-CGM member universities. This leads to designing collective and fortified common themes for Thailand to cooperate with others internationally.
- I-for-Other: Each university identifies, from their respective international networks, their international partners, especially the ones that can benefit from the common themes gained in #1. This subsequently enables the CUPT-CGM member universities, as Team Thailand, to have more negotiation power at a global stage.
- Other-for-Me: Each university, and Team Thailand as a whole, gains from partner universities both within the country and abroad the sought-after knowledge, experiences, and/or wisdom to actualize their respective vision, missions, organizational strategies, and more importantly, the human-capital development.
The IIO Totality has literally made the CUPT-CGM a critical mass with a stronger power and momentum to push Thailand’s education forward unprecedentedly. For the time being, the collective wisdom gained from cooperative efforts of the CUPT-CGM member universities tactfully forms the vision of Thailand’s internationalization strategies, which entail the missions to 1) create global visibility for Thailand’s education, 2) sharpen skills for educators and students, 3) increase opportunities for funding, 4) create sustainable platform for knowledge sharing among educational institutions in Thailand and abroad, and 5) expand areas of cooperations with international partners (CUPT-CGM Meeting, May 18, 2023).
Moreover, the insights gained from CUPT-CGM members were subsequently presented to the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand, on June 29, 2023, resulting in invaluable support and guidance, particularly in terms of 1) Innovation Corridor: Expanded Special Economic Zone, 2) Common Themes for International Cooperation between Thailand and International Partners, 3) New Image of Thailand as Healthy Co-creation Partner, and 4) international funding agents.
With all parties involved (top-down and bottom-up, within and across borders) the CUPT-CGM has become a national gateway for international cooperations. It has also produced an invaluable operating platform for Thailand’s internationalization, consisting of mechanism and opportunities as follows (CUPT-CGM Meeting, June 29, 2023):
Results: The Janus-Faced Duality in Action
- The Face Looking Outward: The Tangible
The CUPT-CGM internationalization strategies and operating platform have become a direction and/or beacon of hope for universities in Thailand to benefit from international cooperations. In terms of physical or tangible manifestation, the road has already been paved for them to take on full responsibility for growth and success. The CUPT-CGM’s initiatives as well as the collective knowledge and experiences are, indeed, the strength and anchor for universities to abide by. They are, at the same time, the think tank for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation to fully understand Thailand’s education, from the first-hands experiences of the CUPT-CGM members. For seamless development and effective work alignment, the knowledge gained from the CUPT-CGM as well as the ideas and supports from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation are vital for the development and implementation Thailand’s international strategies. With all ideas and suggestions from the CUPT and Thailand’s MoFA, the CUPT-CGM has presently set the strategic framework covering three important areas (CGM Meeting, June 23, 2023):
- Global Visibility: This is to prepare and empower Thai universities to build up international networks of learning and sharing.
- Global Partnership: This is to unite and leverage Thai universities for a win-win international relationship with universities and/or organizations abroad.
- Global Fund: This is to equip the CGM member universities with stronger negotiation power for national and international fundings, which are vital for the sustainable development of their institutions.
However, it is to be noted that this CGM’s strategic framework is just half done; the other half to success largely presupposes actions, determinations, and skills of all parties involved.
- The Face Looking Inward: The Intangible
It is true that not all members of CGM members are at the same page, as far as internationalization is concerned. Some are more experienced and successful than other. Moving forward as a team, Team Thailand, can make Thailand much stronger in international cooperations. How much we can gain largely depends on the level of integrity we have. By means of comparison, just as a bicycle wheel can run steadily with no spoke missing, we human beings can move on well with the wheel of progress (education) when we embrace international cooperations with the growth and/or win-win mindset, poise, and integrity. The beautiful complementariness expressed in the IIO Totality and joint efforts of the CGM member universities hugely sheds light on the merits of having a self-in-relation identity, which is the perfect Whole or Totality that makes us (Self) respect people and everything around us (Other). In short, Self and Other define each other and our existence depends on each other; all unite to ensure the efficient, elegant, and smooth functioning of the whole.
It takes many and different things to educate one person: parents, finances, schools, disciplines, determinations, to cite just a few. This is to accentuate the fact that growth is not something we have to do in our own strength; we (Self) always need other things (Other) to complete us. Before we can have a glimpse of success in life, we first need to cultivate the growth mindset and allow it to lead us through thick and thin, twists and turns, roadblocks, or disappointments in life’s journey. One way to cultivate such a life-nurturing growth mindset is to embrace the interconnectedness and interrelationship of the soft-hard-meta skills prolific triad. Meta-skills are defined as “innate, timeless, higher-order skills that create adaptive learners and promote success in whatever context the future brings” (https://www.google.com, n.d.). Working hand in hand with soft and hard skills, meta skills which include, for example, adaptability, resilience, creativity, innovation, and self-awareness, can have a turn-around power to transform what is supposed to be a setback into a setup, a misfortune into an opportunity. The growth mindset thus echoes “Your attitude determines your altitude.”
Conclusion: The Growth Mindset and Its Ripple Effect
It is believed that in the whole spectrum and tapestry of the universe what we know (K) is less than what we do not know (DK), and what we do not know what we do not know (DKDK) is far greater than what we do not know. We then need to perpetually train our mind to be flexible and open, enough to readily accept the DK and DKDK, the source of breakthroughs and what can make education truly transformational. The CGM’s strategic framework shows us how to tread on the road of internationalization with a strong power, fortified by collective efforts of CUPT member universities, and international cooperations can be a golden key to unlock the door of the infinite opportunities. Besides, education which, by nature, encompasses openness, mobility, possibilities, and productivity, as opposed to closure, stagnation, and passivity, can provide a good ground for us to cultivate a growth mindset and to train ourselves to be global citizens who realize the essence of IIO Totality, interrelatedness, and interdependence of the world. The growth mindset in every one of us (Self) can create a ripple effect for the whole world (Other) in ways that we can live and learn together in a cooperative, peaceful, and inclusive manner. When we move on with the benefits of the whole in mind, as suggested by the IIO Totality, we all can partake of the same benefits and results; hence, the significance of international cooperations for training global citizens.
References
Council of University Presidents of Thailand. (2023, May 18) Meeting of the CUPT Consortium of Global Mission. Office of the Higher Education Commission, OHEC, Bangkok, Thailand.
Council of University Presidents of Thailand. (2023, June 23) Meeting of the CUPT Consortium of Global Mission. Northern Science Park of Chiangmai University, Chiangmai, Thailand.
Meta Skills. (2023, October 31). In https://www.google.com/search?q=meta-skills+in+education.
